Richest of reefs

In one of the largest ever private purchases of land for science and conservation, the US Nature Conservancy has paid $35 million for the Palmyra atoll, which contains one of the world's richest coral reef systems. Charles Kennel, director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, calls it "a virtual treasure chest of science". The atoll is home to the world's largest land invertebrate, the coconut crab, and an important colony of red-footed boobies.

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